page_title: Surplus women
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Surplus women / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Women war workers sawing wood specimens for testing at the New Gun Factory, Woolwich Arsenal, London.
context_page_description: Surplus women is a phrase coined during the Industrial Revolution referring to a perceived excess of unmarried women in Britain.
context_section_description: Even before the war, six out of seven children in Britain were compelled by financial necessity to leave school at the age of 14 to go into the workforce to earn a wage. In 1901, over half of all women workers were under 25 years of age. By 1911, 77 per cent of women workers were single, 14 per cent were married and 9 per cent were either divorced or widowed. Regardless of their marital status, females were able to find job opportunities, especially during the First World War due to absence of males in the workforce. Halfway through the war, by 1916, the female labor force had grown by 600,000.
  World War I compounded the gender imbalance. The deaths of nearly one million men during the war increased the gender gap by over a million; from 670,000 to 1,700,000. The number of unmarried women seeking economic means grew dramatically. In addition, demobilisation and economic decline following the war caused high unemployment. The war increased female employment; however, the return of demobilised men displaced many from the workforce, as did the closure of many of the wartime factories. Hence women who had worked during the war found themselves struggling to find jobs and those approaching working age were not offered the opportunity.
  Many women during World War I sought employment opportunities at factories. Women’s health became a concern, as they were being exposed to working conditions that they were not used to. There were fears that the factory work undertaken by female workers could exert a damaging influence on their health, mind and morals. Specifically, women’s reproductive health was a concern. Britain was looking out for their future generation of workers; Britain needed a healthy labor force to maintain their country. The debate about female workers’ health soon went beyond an earlier concern with just their reproductive organs and functions. There were new health codes implemented embracing the health of girls and young women who were in the workforce. There were efforts to implement a national occupational health service. This service was negotiated between the government, unions, employers, and medical professionals. This health movement was aimed at keeping Britain safe pre and post war.
  Also a concern, was women becoming too involved in their work life and distancing themselves from their domestic life. Socially, women were still expected to keep a clean house and run a smooth household. Some men were against women having a work life outside of their children. These men believed that it was in the children's best interest to have a full-time mother around parenting the children. Their reasoning behind their firm belief was simply that the future generation of workers were more important. At this point in history women were not seen as equals to men in the workforce and experienced prejudice towards their employment status. Many women were also still unmarried due to the larger number of women compared to men in Britain at this time.
caption: Women workers in the Royal Gun Factory (Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London, 1918.)
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